On this episode of What's Going on With Shipping, Sal Mercogliano - Associate Professor of History at Campbell University (www.campbell.edu), former merchant mariner, and adjunct professor of Maritime Industry Policy at US Merchant Marine Academy (www.usmma.edu) - discusses the decision by Home Depot to charter their own vessel to circumvent escalating container rates and attempt to avoid delays in ports. How bad are global shipping snafus? Home Depot contracted its own container ship as a safeguard https://www.cnbc.com/2021/06/13/home-depot-contracted-its-own-container-ship-to-avoid-shipping-delays.html Home Depot Chartering Its Very Own Ship to Avoid Shipping Problems https://gcaptain.com/home-depot-chartering-its-very-own-ship-to-avoid-shipping-problems/ Home Depot now has its own ship. That’s an ominous sign https://www.freightwaves.com/news/home-depot-now-has-its-own-ship-thats-an-ominous-sign Container rates rocket even higher — and there’s no end in sight https://www.freightwaves.com/news/container-rates-rocket-even-higher-and-theres-no-end-in-sight Top 10 liners control 85% of market — and they’re not done yet https://www.freightwaves.com/news/top-10-liners-control-85-of-market-and-theyre-not-done-yet Container ship scores ‘off the charts,’ ‘fantasy’ charter rate: $135,000/day https://www.freightwaves.com/news/container-ship-scores-off-the-charts-fantasy-charter-rate-135000-day